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Audi replaces Mercedes as official vehicle supplier to the IOC

The automotive sponsor of the International Olympic Committee for the past 22 years has been Daimler-Benz. No more, as Audi has just signed a four-year deal to be the official auto supplier to the folks who keep the torch alight and on the move. Audi will supply vehicles for the IOC's headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland and the organization's international events.
In case you're remembering all the stories about BMW and the London Olympics last summer and wondering where Mercedes-Benz was in all of that, the answer lies in the numerous mouths at the Olympic trough. The IOC is the organization and oversight body of the Olympics - much like the way the FIA oversees world motorsport. BMW, though, sponsored the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, so during the games IOC reps rode in Benzes, LOCOG and its guest dignitaries rode in BMWs.
The Volkswagen Group has other ties with the Olympics as well: The Group will be the official vehicle partner for the winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia in 2014, and Audi currently partners the national Olympic federations of Germany, Finland, Russia and Switzerland. The press release below announcing the partnership has all the official details.

Audi-only rental car company expands

With the lines and occasional hassle, getting a rental car after a long flight can be daunting, even if you already have a reservation. Now, a company called Silvercar is trying to inject some luxury and modern, high-tech features into the process to make it less of a chore. The business recently expanded to O'Hare International Airport to offer visitors to Chicago a fleet exclusively comprised of silver Audi A4s. Silvercar is based in Austin, TX, and is being run by Luke Schneider, a former chief technology officer at ZipCar. He told Crain's Chicago Business that the rental industry "hasn't innovated in 30 to 40 years." Silvercar's big innovation is in the booking process. Like ordering practically anything today, it's all done through a smartphone app. Customers then scan a QR code on the Audi's windshield to get going. At the end of the rental, the bill is emailed to you. Prices start around $59 a day on weekends and $89 during the week, according to Crain's. Because they're all A4s with GPS and Wi-Fi, everyone gets the same car. In the world of ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft, rental cars might seem passe, but according to Crain's, the rental market at O'Hare alone amounts to over $300 million a year. Silvercar's location there isn't at the actual airport, though. Instead, a shuttle picks up customers to take them to the company's site nearby. The business is working on a national rollout to 10 airports by the end of June, including major locations like LAX and Denver. Related Video: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Audi inaugurates new R8 production line at Neckarsulm

Of all the factories which the Volkswagen Group operates around the world, the Audi plant in Neckarsulm may not be the very largest, but it is among the most diversified. That's where Audi builds versions of the A4, A5, A6, A8 and Q7 lines. It's also been home to the R8, but now the German automaker has moved supercar production to a new facility just a few miles down the road.
Back in August, Audi stopped production of the R8 at its main Neckarsulm site and moved it to the new Böllinger Höfe site in Heilbronn, restarting production just three weeks later. The new assembly line brings together various workshops that had been scattered about the Neckarsulm complex under one roof, and will surely make production of the next-generation R8 that much smoother.
The Böllinger Höfe facility is about a quarter the size of the main Neckarsulm plant, and will also house a small-scale production line - similar, we gather, to what Audi subsidiary Lamborghini recently built in Sant'Agata Bolognese - and a massive, state-of-the-art logistics center with capable of handling 4,500 containers each day.